By LISA STIFFLER, P-I REPORTER

Updated 10:00 pm, Friday, April 21, 2006

Seattle officials and Muckleshoot Indian tribal members recently announced a sweeping agreement to resolve a range of long-standing issues between the two.

They cheered the proposed strategy as a win for both sides, ending a legal dispute over the use of water in the Cedar River, making reparations for historical damage suffered by the tribe and setting up a mechanism for resolving future problems.

"It's truly extraordinary that we have an agreement between the city and the Muckleshoot," City Councilman Richard Conlin said. It's "a huge achievement."

But others in the region -- hunters, state officials and environmentalists among them -- have been less than enthusiastic as they've delved into the plan in the weeks after its release. Many remain puzzled. Some are downright upset.

Negotiations began about a year ago as a way to settle the tribe's court challenge of a plan for water and forest management in the watershed, but grew into a multifaceted agreement worth $40 million in cash and land going to the tribe.

The Cedar is the main source of drinking water for Seattle and other cities. If approved, the deal would cost a Seattle Public Utilities residential customer paying $23.53 a month an additional $3 a year on average over the next 30 years.

A convenience store billed $58.83 a month could pay about $20 more a year in coming decades. City Hall, which pays a $2,160 monthly bill, could expect to pay about $600 more annually over that time.

The agreement seeks to transfer more than 1,230 acres to help settle damages to the tribe when it lost access to the land for traditional uses, including the collection of food and other resources. It also reinforces Seattle's commitment to building a new sockeye hatchery and lets the tribe engage in gathering and hunting on city-owned land that's off limits to the public.

To the surprise of some, it's that last piece that's fueled the greatest amount of concern.

There have been questions about the fairness to other hunters, the apparent exclusion of state regulators in the deal and fears over the safety of the public and city workers.

"The game belongs to the people of the state of Washington," said Daniel Tucker, a board member with the Washington Big Game Council. "It doesn't belong to the city, and it doesn't belong to the Indians."

"Our policy is if it's open to one group of people, it should be open to all groups. We have brought that repeatedly to the city of Seattle," said Lora Leschner, a manager with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is responsible for regulating hunting statewide.

Some point to a 1995 agreement between the city of Tacoma and the Muckleshoot Tribe regulating land use in the Green and Duwamish rivers' watersheds as the approach Seattle should take. It allows some public hunting and makes Fish and Wildlife a partner to the agreement.

"This is a water supply for 1.3 million people," said Martin Baker, a city negotiator for the agreement. Allowing public access would risk contamination to the naturally clean water source.

The reason the tribal members are given access to the land is because they are entitled to hunt there because of treaty rights, city officials said.

The city also will pay the tribe $250,000 a year for a decade to study the deer and elk populations on the land to help determine suitable hunting limits and establish an overarching plan for managing the populations.

But the hunting is allowed to start shortly after the agreement's approval, causing some to wonder why the research isn't done first. Critics wonder if the $2.5 million research program is too pricy. And some ask if the tribe has a track record demonstrating that it can manage the animals and police its tribal members to the benefit of the land.

Supporters say yes.

"The tribe has a vested interest in making sure the resources are protected for future generations," said John Halliday, a Muckleshoot member and tribal liaison for the city. "It's not part of tribal culture to decimate a resource."

A legal challenge to the sockeye hatchery is still in the courts. Those opposed to the hatchery fear the sockeye could harm native chinook protected under the Endangered Species Act. The city and tribes support the project, and Seattle potentially would owe millions of dollars to the tribe if the hatchery is axed.

Questions also remain surrounding the amount of natural resources -- wood, berries and plant material -- the tribe can take from the watershed as allowed by the agreement.

The exact acreage of the land to be transferred is unclear, and one parcel is owned by the Woodland Park Zoo, which hasn't agreed to the deal.

"There are all these questions coming up, but there are no answers," said Joan Burlingame, a public representative on the Cedar River Council, an oversight group whose membership also includes agency officials and elected leaders.

The council plans to submit a letter to the city commenting on the plan, but is seeking more information, she said.

Those in favor of the agreement are confident it will win the necessary approval by the City Council, the Muckleshoot Tribal Council and U.S. District Court. A public hearing is scheduled with the council for May 15.

"This thing is going to be fine," said Rollin Fatland, spokesman for the Muckleshoot Tribe. "The issues and questions and concerns expressed by some people are more a reflection of a lack of understanding about the agreement.

"Once they see what's in there and how this agreement is good for hunting and the management (of the watershed), I think they'll be OK."